The Compass War
by guitarhero851
Summary: A new threat arises on Termina. The Hero of Time is no longer around to stop the terrible disaster. Now, it's up to the citizens of Clock Town to save themselves. Feel free to review or comment.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Legend of Zelda series nor any of its characters

"Rain again."

It was always raining in Clock Town.

The last two months had been riddled with rain. It was absolutely relentless. Day and night the clouds were heavy with moisture. They hung overhead grey and gloomy, which in turn, left the citizens of Clock Town feeling the same. The downpour had devastated the harvest, which made the Carnival of Time seem like a useless festival. Some believed the ongoing rain to be a premonition to something devastating.

It wouldn't have been the first time Clock Town had seen something so utterly terrifying that the festival celebrating the very existence of their town was cancelled. Why couldn't something of the same magnitude occur again? It had been fifteen years since the moon descended upon the bustling town. If terrible disasters leading to the end of life as they know it were going to be a continuous part of Clock Town history…maybe they were past due for their next one.

Now if rain were their only bad omen, anyone would consider them crazy.

The Snowhead Mountains. Now summer for the Gorons, the tribe had opened the racetrack for the season. The rain had taken care of that as if it had a grudge against them. The track was muddy and traction was nowhere to be found while racing. The track was closed immediately once the rain continued well into two weeks. With their only source of entertainment gone, it may as well have been a never-ending winter again for them. What didn't help was that rumbling occurred underneath Snowhead Temple periodically. At first, the Gorons considered it normal, but as it continued with the ongoing rain…they weren't so sure.

Clock Town's walls and structures weakened from these rumblings.

The Great Bay. The once warring Zoras and Gerudos were forced into a stalemate once the rain became stronger. Waves crashed against the seashore, taking away the beach as they did. The tide swelled and swallowed up the houses on the shore and beyond. Both tribes were trapped within their own strongholds, one underwater, one in the cliffs. The waves grew in size to the point of being considered tsunamis and went on with their attack on the shore.

Clock Town watched as the waves drew closer.

The Southern Swamp. The Deku tribe of Woodfall was never, under any circumstances, sociable. Since the building of their castle they completely cut themselves off from any civilization other than their own. The good news was they stopped kidnapping people off of the tour boat. With the rain, came flooding. This wasn't really a problem for the swamp. The tall houses and lily pads for the Deku made for easy escapes from any flooded area. The increase in hostile creatures was the problem. Again, the rain brought darkness to the hearts of the creatures of the swamp. Stalfos, Lizalfos, Wolfos. Monsters of all kinds laid waste to any living being in the swamp. Once they ran out of things to kill their eyes moved towards Clock Town.

Clock Town was running out of guards.

Ikana Canyon. The old decrepit canyon had once been a flourishing kingdom. It's long and bloody history made more than a few ghost stories and myths for the citizens. Once the moon retreated back to the sky, the mayor of Clock Town began a plan of action to settle in and populate the canyon. If it could once support a kingdom why not a small group of people from Clock Town? For years the small village prepared there grew. No problems or complications occurred, even the Garo and Stalfos were mysteriously absent. As was the case in every other direction, Ikana Canyon suffered when the rain came. The village fell silent and no word was sent to Mayor Dotour as to what was happening in the settlement. Now the Garo and Stalfos have returned, as if they had been waiting for the rain the entire time. No one can reach the settlement, not on foot, not on horse, not even the sky using messenger birds…

Clock Town feared being alone.

The central town had plenty to worry about: monsters, waves, a possible eruption. With so many things happening around them, Mayor Dotour sent guards out to Ikana Canyon to search out a possible reason as to why any civilization from the canyon would not respond and why that was the only direction without an apparent problem. Should the guards find any threat against Clock Town, at least they could be prepared for it. The plan was risky, but he was determined to intercept and prevent any surprise coming from Ikana. Viscen stepping down from Captain of the Guard didn't help the situation. His replacement, Shiro, was sent instead with three guards; all formerly of the old Bomber's Gang, one of which was their leader, Jim. For two days they remained in Ikana. And when they did return, the only thing they could report was the finding of a Garo in exchange for the life of one of the Bomber's members.

"When are you ever going to stop?" Jim asked the sky. By now he had figured he'd put up with it long enough that he deserved an answer. "There's unrest in my town thanks to you. I can't let you go on like this. You will stop. I'll find a way to make you stop." Jim was returning from Mayor Dotour's office to the Stock Pot Inn. He had taken up residence in the Knife Chamber. Anju was nice enough to let him stay there for a low sum and to reject the offer would have been insanity on his part. The inn wasn't so much an inn anymore, more like a boarding house. The people in the building never changed. There was himself, Anju, her mother, **her **mother Granny (dear goddess when would she die), the fisherman from Great Bay who escaped the tide, the weird hand thing in the toilet, and Kafei.

Kafei was an absolute mess. He was living his life over. Majora's magic never did wear off of him. Kafei remained in his smallish form, going and growing through life once again. His relationship with Anju was tenuous at best, but they managed in the areas they could. They were still emotionally attached, but physically was out of the question. Their conversations slowed, and then halted completely. Kafei, sulking in self pity, stopped taking care of himself realizing he could never catch up to Anju's age. Jim hated to see him in that state. The Bomber's sense of justice never faltered and since then he had been looking for a way to cure the grieved man, but to no avail.

Jim entered the inn and although the inn was two stories he could still hear the rain pounding on the roof above. He grabbed a towel off of the coat rack positioned next to the door. Anju had placed them there after having to clean the floor each and every time someone came home. No one was waiting at the desk, not that it would matter as there was no one actually looking for a room. Jim ascended the stairs and entered the second room. It was a cozy place, a place for him to call home. The fire was crackling in the spot reserved for one, "Guess I forgot to put it out. I've got to stop doing that. The place is liable to go up in flames," He changed his clothes and laid down on the soft bed. Recalling today's events didn't sit well in his stomach. This was the third friend he had lost on these missions alone, and many more to the creatures of the swamp. The dead received no peace, no satisfaction, they all died feeling guilt for not being stronger or not being able to do more for their friends and loved ones. No funerals were held as they would be as ongoing as the rain. A knock echoed from his door.

"Jim, you back yet?"

Jim walked to the door, "Yes Kafei, I'm back," He let the purple haired man into the room. "I still haven't found anything Kafei, I still don't know how to turn you back, I'm sorry," Jim said it rather half-heartedly. His promise to Kafei was wearing thin after so many years. He still looked, but finding something now, after so long, would be a miracle.

"It's not like I get my hopes up for it, Jim. How did it go? Did you find anything for my father?" Kafei responded.

"The Garo are more vicious now. Maybe he can put that bit of evidence to good use," Jim let this come out very sarcastically. "Another death this town can't afford,"

"Jim…I'm..I…I'm sorry," Kafei didn't know what to say.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not like something you did lead to Daniel's death," Jim began to tear up a bit.

"Daniel? Dear goddess he was only fifteen. To die that young…I couldn't imagine. The pain and guilt to die with such an unfulfilled life. I know you blame my father for not taking more action, Jim. The apology for his actions are necessary." Kafei explained.

"I DON'T WANT A DAMNED APOLOGY FROM YOU!" Jim's tears flowed, "I want it from Dotour! That indecisive, cowardly bastard has no right to be mayor anymore! Hell, he didn't when the moon fell! His orders have lead to more injuries and deaths than necessary and that's the reason we don't have a competent guard captain!"

"Viscen left because he could do more on his own than what he could in the guard," Kafei reasoned.

"Which shouldn't at all, be the case," Jim was beginning to calm down, "I frustrated with this whole situation. It feels like it's all on us…"

"It is all on us. It's Clock Town versus the elements now. Link isn't going to show up this time to save us. It's our job." Kafei looked at the floor, "I want to ask you something, Jim. As a friend, not as a guard. Off the record, you know? Where do we stand? How long do you think we can hold out like this?"

"Straight or sugar-coated?" Jim joked. Not even a sad smirk. "What does it matter? All I know is that we can't hold out forever." Kafei sighed. He looked as if he were about to vomit. Going through two catastrophic disasters, one of which going on currently, and drifting apart from the person that means the most to you would give anyone enough anxiety to induce a heart attack at age two, regardless of physical health. "It just means that we need to get a plan in motion. Anything! Anything is better than sitting around here all day or going out on wild goose chases! Damn it! I need a drink!" Jim stormed out of the room. He descended the stairs, but was surprisingly stopped by Anju.

"Oh! Mr. Baumer! Captai- excuse me. Mr. Caspary was here to see you earlier this evening." Anju explained.

"Viscen was here? Where did he go?" he asked.

"He said he'd meet you at the bar when you had a moment. Although, he did seem in a rather excited mood." Anju told him.

"Thanks Anju," Jim expressed.

"Of course," Jim started walking to the door, "Mr. Baumer! Before you go. How is..umm..Kafei?"

"I don't think it's my place to play messenger between you two. Go talk to him if you want answers," Jim tried to keep the statement as light as possible, although he was afraid it came out cold. Anju's eyes were cast downward at her feet. She apologized and hurried up the staircase. He exited the inn and took the small amount of steps to reach the door way to the bar. Just as he was about to grab the handle the door swung open and a figure walked straight into him. He collided fully with this person, but it did little to effect him. Jim recognized the person as the younger sister of the ranch to the southwest of town. 'Romani?' he thought, "Sorry about that,"

"No,no!I'msosorry!Ishould'vebeenlookingwhereIwasgoing!" the girl said this so quickly it almost completely blurred together in Jim's ears.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that. One more time, slowly please," Jim requested.

Romani took a deep breath, "I was just saying sorry and that I should've been looking where I was going,"

"You okay?" Jim asked, "It seemed like you took a nasty spill there,"

"I'm fine, thanks!" Romani looked at the clock tower, "I'm sorry again for bumping into you and also that fact that I need to rush off. I promise I'll apologize more properly the next time I see you."

Jim turned to look at the tower himself, "Oh, that's not-," he had been turning back to her mid-sentence, "And she's gone. Weird girl." He moved toward the bar entrance, "Time to see what Viscen wants."


	2. Chapter 2

Jim traversed down the steps of the bar. Viscen would be expecting him and he was excited to see what the old guard captain had for him. Viscen was the epitome of justice. It radiated from him like light from the sun. No problem was too small or too big for him to handle…unless it dealt with Mutoh. Mutoh was the bane of Viscen's existence. Every issue that disturbed the work of the carpenters, whether it was safety hazards or even the moon falling, Mutoh would fight him tooth and nail to gain the mayor's approval and stop 'Viscen's Campaign of Justice' as he would say.

After the moon returned the mayor became more lively and more involved in the lives of the citizens, though some believe he only did so as there were rumors to have him impeached in favor of the guard captain himself. Dotour's sudden actions, however seemed…insane perhaps? His first solution to the rain had been putting tarps, like a roof, over Clock Town. He begun to wear on the citizens and the guard, but it seemed as though he didn't care. Even as the guard, one by one, turned in their letters of resignation he just stared at them in disgust and asked them how they could do this to their town. Of course, the inevitable happened and Viscen turned his letter in as well. Dotour had the nerve to laugh and put his lackey, Shiro, who had a problem with standing out as much as the mayor used to, into the guard captain position.

After he left his post he stayed in Clock Town. Three days later…rain. Rain, rain, rain.

Since then Viscen had been scouring Termina for any cause of the rain. Like Jim, he had made a promise to himself and the town that he would help stop the downpour.

"James! Come! Have a drink with me!" There was Viscen, a large mug of…something in his hand, "You are old enough aren't you?" He laughed joyfully.

"Identification Mr. Baumer," Mr. Barten joked.

"Really?" Jim asked curtly, "I've been in and out of this joint for how many freakin-"

"Jim relax, I know you're good," Mr. Barten returned to the back room.

"Douchebag," Jim sat down next to Viscen, "Are you drunk? Already?" Viscen eyed Jim, "That's a yes,"

"You're getting' scruffy, kid" Viscen said proudly, "Ah, where have the years gone?"

"So, I heard you wanted to talk to me?" Jim asked.

"OH! Oh! Yeah! Yeah I did," he stared at the ground, "What was it?" He scratched the back of his head.

"You forgot! Are you kidding me right now! You're senile, old man!" Jim exclaimed.

"No, I'm just kidding with ya! Here," Viscen handed Jim a stone tablet, "S'got writing on it. I don't know what it says, but I've got a gut feeling it's important,"

"It's not like you to act on a gut feeling Viscen. Usually it's, analysis, finding the best possible way to fix a situation. You've changed." Jim complied.

"Well, that'll happen on road. I've met a lot of people Jim, learned new cultures, seen things only a few people in this world have seen. At the end of that road, I found that tablet. There's something about it that I can't put my finger on just yet. We just need it translated." Viscen summarized.

"Do you even know what language this is?"

"No."

"Then how do you know where we can translate it?

"I don't."

"Great." Jim headed for the door.

"Wait!" Viscen looked serious now, "I know that you desparetly want to do something, I know you hate waiting. So let's go. Me 'n you. To the Snowhead Mountains. Maybe we'll find something, and maybe we won't, but it beats sitting around with our thumbs up our asses!"

"Viscen," Jim turned around, "I think that's the smartest thing you've said since you were guard captain,"

A knock came at Kafei's door back at the Stock Pot. The 'young' man had enough of conversation after his squabble with the Bomber leader. Another knock.

"Kafei," a small voice came through the door.

Kafei whipped around. Anju? "One moment," he opened the door, "Oh, Anju, um..good evening,"

"Good evening Kafei, may I come in?" Kafei had reached Anju's height about two years back. At least talking with her face to face, rather than face to knee, brought him some hope.

"Yes, please do," he widened the doorway for her, "How is everything?"

"I would rather wish to get to the point Kafei," she explained and took a deep breath, "I know that what happened to you was not fair. I know that what I did to you was not fair. But, the curse that skull kid put on you took its toll on our relationship. Kafei, understand that marrying you would bring concern and criticism to our marriage, hindering it further," tears formed, "I love you Kafei, I truly, truly do but I-" It was becoming harder for her to speak. Kafei found himself beginning to cry as well. It felt like a dagger was being thrust into both of their hearts. "It's impossible…I can't," Anju got up and ran out of the room. The trail she took was indicated by the tear stains on the wooden floors.

Kafei spent the rest of his night in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

A dark figure sat on the throne of Ikana, the throne of Igos du Ikana. He rose from the seat and walked down the carpeted stairs in front of him. At the bottom he raised his sword, a blade a black as the night sky, and thrust it into the once beautiful marble floors. A darkness, a shadow covered the floors and carpets of the throne room. An army of Stalfos rose from the darkness, the Ikana army. Igos du Ikana stood at the front, where a king of his stature should be, and behind him was the entire army of Ikana which were once again robbed of a peaceful afterlife.

"Igos du Ikana," the dark man began, his hands raised above him as if he were a puppet-master, "You will help me raze the lands of Termina."

Igos realized his surroundings and turned on the man, "Why!? Why did you wake us from our sleep!? You had no right! And I have no qualms against Termina and its people! What makes you think I'll lift a bony finger to help you!?"

"Oh?" said the figure, "I apologize, I didn't mean to make you believe you had a choice."

A fiery-haired girl sprung from her bed. It was a nightmare that woke her up. A terrible nightmare, one which burned Termina with more fury and wraith than the moon ever could. These dreams were a common occurrence to her, she had had ones filled with aliens, with evil farmers across the field, and ones with a young boy in green. This one, however, unsettled her. She did not feel safe anymore, she wanted to leave, run, escape, anything but stay in her bed. The girl got up and opened the door to her room, she walked downstairs and grabbed some milk from an ice-box. She sat down at the nearby table and slowly consumed the drink. A noise came from upstairs, it startled her. Another woman came down the stairs to see the girl sitting at the table.

"Romani, what are you doing?" the woman said.

"I'm sorry sister, I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare, but I'll be fine. I'll go back to bed after I finish this milk." Romani explained.

"You're sure you're okay? Can I get you anything?" Romani shook her head, "Okay then, I'll see you in the morning,"

Romani wished her sister goodnight. After a few a quiet minutes she finished her bottle of milk, cleaned it out and returned upstairs. Hopefully there would be no more dreams tonight, and if there were that they would be of a boy in green.

"MAYOR DOTOUR!" the new guard captain burst into the mayor's office during an important meeting with Mutoh and his carpenters, "Viscen," he attempted to catch his breath, "Viscen is back in town, sir," The mayor's eyes went wide and he stood up from his chair.

"Everyone. Leave," Dotour walked over to Shiro and placed his hand on the guards heaving back, "Relax, soldier. Once you catch your breath you can tell me all about it,"

"I'm sor-sorry, sir. There's not much to tell besid- besides that he's back."

"That's all?! Nothing else?! Not why he's here or where he came from?" the mayor grunted, "I need to know what that bastard is up to," Shiro looked at him with a puzzled look on his face, "You thought I'd be happy the old man is back didn't you? Thought I'd ask him to help us?" Shiro nodded, "No, my dear boy, Viscen is a terrible threat to this town,"

"But why?" Shiro asked.

"DON'T YOU DARE QUESTION ME! I made you what you are now, and you WILL respect my decisions! Lock him up down in the sewers." Shiro didn't move, "NOW SHIRO!" the captain slowly bowed and walked out of the office.

"At least now Aroma will have company,"

Kafei was awake in his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what Anju had told him earlier. The tears had dried up a long time ago so the conversation only affected his thoughts. He wanted to forget now, forget about what he had and move on. Who was he kidding, if the Skull Kid's magic hadn't worn off by now it wasn't going to dissipate. Coming out of his in-depth thinking he could hear Jim's ridiculously loud snoring through the thin walls. How anyone of that average size could create such hurricane-like noise was beyond him. He pitied Jim's future wife. Now that his purpose for living had all but disappeared maybe he should apply himself to a cause, like the bomber had. At least it was something to do, maybe start travelling and figuring out how to stop all of this damn rain.

_Knocking_

Kafei was sure it wasn't his door. He got up and put his ear to the wall. He could pick out Jim's tired voice and a very familiar one. The walls may have been thin, but he couldn't make out everything.

"Viscen…late"

"…know…time to…"

"…five more minutes…"

"NOW JAMES!" Kafei jumped away from the walls. His curiousness got the better of him. Kafei barged out into the hallway. An older man, looked to be in his late 40's, was staring back at him.

"Kafei?" the man asked, the disbelief on his face was extremely apparent.

"Oi, Viscen. What are you looking at?" Jim immerged from his room, seeing Kafei answered his question, "What a touching reunion and I'd hate to break it up, but we need to get moving Viscen." Jim rushed back into his room to collect the rest of his belongings.

"Where are you running off to this late?" Kafei asked.

"Snowhead. It's just something to take our minds off of what's going on here." Viscen explained very awkwardly. Kafei eyes brightened, he wanted to go with them. He could tell that Viscen was withholding something, and Kafei knew that it was about the reason for going. This trip to Snowhead, it could be his cause, could be used to relax and put his mind at ease.

"Let me go too, Viscen," Kafei turned prepared to gather his belongs, but Viscen stopped him.

"Kafei, I can't let you go with us. It's going to be dangerous. I know that you can handle yourself, but…fighting wise. There's going to be fiends up there Kafei. No one is safe, and the only way to, at least, protect yourself is a proficiency in a weapon. I'm sorry Kafei, I will not allow you to go. If anything happen to you…I may no longer be the guard captain, but I've always felt that my duty to you and this town still holds true,"

"And my father?" Kafei looked solemn.

"No need to protect those who do not wish to protect others," Viscen answered.

"We should…all catch up when you two get back," Kafei suggested.

"Yeah! Awesome! Guy's night out!" Jim exclaimed, the other two didn't find it funny, "Bad time?" he cleared his throat, "Yeah, I was never good with timing,"

"You're only excited for the alcohol," Viscen lighten up and laughed. Kafei chuckled a bit too, "I'm glad you understand, Kafei,"

"I do, but know that I intend to go on the next trip. I'll buy a blade with the rupees I have and train until I can hold my own," Kafei vowed before the two swordsmen, "Be careful you guys, the town's quiet enough without you two," he entered his room and closed the door.

Jim looked at Viscen, "You know? If he joins we're going to need to balance us out with a woman. Too many sausages in this group," Viscen rolled his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

"VISCEN!"

Once again, the old guard and bomber leader were being stopped by someone else who had recognized him and wanted to 'catch-up' or warn him of Dotour's behavior. Jim was getting tired of it, five times they have been stopped, and they JUST made it outside of the damn town gate. He had debated leaving the soldier behind; he had waited long enough to do something about the rain.

"I DEMAND THAT YOU STOP!"

Viscen's eyebrow cocked wondering who in their right mind would speak to him in such a manner. He too had originally assumed it was an old acquaintance, but seeing a guard running at him had told him otherwise. The guard wasn't armed, at least readily, and was completely out of breath. Viscen recognized him as his replacement. "What are you doing here, Shiro? What do you want?"

The captain caught his breath, "Only to talk, old friend," Viscen relaxed, "Dotour wants you gone…told me to capture you and put you in the sewers. He's completely convinced you're against him."

"What is that man's cause to believe such a thing? There are no _sides_ in this besides this town and the monsters of the swamp and…whatever is causing this blasted rain. What does he believe I'm after?" Viscen question, his mind was boggled as to how someone who used to be of great standing could have fallen so low simply through paranoia.

"His office," Shiro said simply, "His town. He's under the belief that you're using the crisis as an opportunity to take his spot."

"Has he gone completely insane! I've done nothing to make anyone think that I wanted his seat! I've been running my ass around all over Termina to stop this mess and he thinks it's for his office? Son of a bitch!" Viscen was wildly swinging his battle spear, throwing a tantrum. Jim had never seen him lose his cool like this before.

"So? Do you plan to take Viscen?" Jim asked. Viscen was occupied with his current rant.

"No, of course not," Shiro stated, "I'm not so stupid as to detain one of the few people left trying to save this town. However, know that when Dotour finds that I disobeyed his orders he will send someone else to do the job. Just be careful, with whatever you're doing."

"I'll have his back. Thanks Shiro," Jim's thanks was half-hearted. Just because this man warned them that Dotour's actions had become worse didn't mean he forgave Shiro for bending to that madman's will. But, at least for now, it seemed even Dotour's allies were falling apart. It boded well for the soldiers actively searching for ways to stop this would-be disaster, but not for Clock Town. If it's guards didn't wish to protect their commander, what would be keeping their will to defend the town. It seemed that civil war was on the way. No one could afford that right now…

Jim watched Shiro return through the city gates. By then Viscen had relaxed and the duo began to make their way to the snowy peak to the north.

After two days of hiking the swordsmen reached the secluded goron village. The hike was tough, but they travelled during the cool nights. Thankfully, winter ended long ago so no snow made for an easier trip. They met some gorons along the way, making sure they were headed in the right direction. The ones they met seemed friendly enough. They acted a little strange, probably due to the weather and these ones looked to have become accustomed to the rain. When the gorons talked they acted as their usually happy dispositional selves, but why they went back to whatever they were originally doing their attitude changed to a depressed tone. Both Jim and Viscen could tell why, the only big source of their entertainment was ruined, their home was flooded in areas surrounded by higher elevation. The gorons are fire warriors, of course they would be depressed in a land of water. When they reached the village it looked as though they were packing up, as if to leave for someplace. Jim ran up to one of the villagers.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry to disturb you, but what's going on here?" Jim asked.

"Oh! A Termian! Not a whole lot of you come up here to visit us. Figured you all packed and left too…Anyway we're leaving this mountain. The rain and rumblings from Snowhead have us beat. We can't live here anymore." The goron explained.

"What! We're here to help now. You can't just give up!" Jim pleaded.

"What do you expect us to do?" the goron took no offense to Jim's comment, his actions showed that he had long since submitted to the natural disasters, "If there was something that could stop all this, I'm sure the tribe would be willing to help, but I don't see any way to get that done."

Viscen stepped in, "The tremors are coming from Snowhead right? Point us in the right direction and we'll take care of it from there." The goron pointed up a recently built path for easier access to the temple, but warned them that there was no way for them to get there without a guide. All Viscen said was a _we can manage _and they left without another word to the goron.

Travelling on the path was a lot tougher than Viscen had imagined. It was nasty, unleveled, and above all wet. The rain wasn't helping either as it went from a decent drizzle to a heavy downpour. Still they trekked on, determined to find a clue or the cause itself.

Left turn. Dead end. Right turn. Dead end. Straight. Dead end.

"What the fu-!" Jim started, "Who's idea was to make this place so freakin' huge!"

They continued trying to find any path they hadn't taken already.

"You feel that?" Viscen stopped. Jim was gnawing on the food from the pack. He didn't understand why the old soldier stopped. Just then he could feel rumbling beneath his feet. Jim dropped the bone he'd been gnawing on. He figured out what was going on right before a boulder tumbled over the canyon wall and screamed downward at them intending to crush the two. Viscen braced as his instincts told him to, and Jim jumped out of the way. Viscen, though his eyes were closed, could feel the boulder bearing down on him, but it never hit. At first he'd thought it missed him, but he was so sure that it was right on top of him. He looked up, a fine dust now radiating around where the boulder was. Ahead of him stood a goron, still rolled up. The goron stood and faced him, it was the one they spoke to in the village.

"I told you. You need a guide." He simply stated.

"Did you do that? Save me, I mean."

"Of course, I won't have blood on my hands. I showed you the way, now it's my responsibility to get you two back to safety." The goron explained.

"Sorry bro, we aren't going back," Jim spoke up.

"You have too! It's too dangerous! We've lost enough family as it is. We don't need strangers dying for us too," the goron said.

"We're doing this for the good of Termina. Not only for the Gorons, but the Zoras, the Dekus, the citizens of Clock Town! We can no longer afford to not act. Something has to be done. Every day the rumblings get worse, the waves get closer, and the swamp spews more foul creatures that wish to drag our villagers away! We've decided to start here. Now move aside." Viscen threaten the goron.

"I…I think that, maybe I should go with you both," the goron realized, "Maybe it's fate that I met you two today. I was about to give up on this place, but it's my home. Seeing everyone's faces when the elder said we were leaving…I just…can't bear it. Let me accompany you! I can hold my own against the weak creatures of Snowhead! You won't need to worry about my well being."

Viscen turned to Jim, "What do you think?"

"Well I have three reasons why we should bring him. One, he's a goron. Two, he's a goron. Three, he's a freakin' GORON. But, seriously we obviously need a guide. I'm sick of hitting dead ends." Jim reasoned.

"Good point, James," Viscen approached the goron, "Alright, Mister Goron, I cordially invite you into our party, but we'll need a name,"

"The elders named me Pyrus," the goron stated.

"Well Pyrus, lead the way,"

Within minutes they reached the temple.

"Why couldn't you do that?" Jim joked.

"Shut up," Viscen replied, annoyed.

They made their way to the top of the temple. Pyrus was the first to enter, the other two stopped in the first room. The temple was freezing contrary to the temperature outside. The ice was still thick on the walls. Pyrus came running back into the first room.

"The temple!...It's frozen! Completely!"

Sure enough the entire main column was frozen to the core. Maybe water had been collecting at the bottom and it slowly built up to fill the whole room with ice. Unsure of how to proceed they felt tremors below the temple. It seemed like they were coming from the chasm underneath the temple…the volcano?

The trio rushed out of the temple and looked out over the chasm. As if to confirm their thoughts another tremor erupted out of the void. It had to be the volcano. For months it had been building, trying to erupt and burn the surrounding areas.

"I have to take a look down in the chasm," Pyrus said.

"You're kidding right?" Jim asked, "There's a volcano ready to erupt and you want to get closer to it? That is the dumbest thing I hav-" Pyrus decided Jim's comment was unnecessary and jumped down the sloping hill to the bottom, "And there he goes…" He looked at Viscen, "Shall we?" Viscen shrugged and the two of them jumped down the hill after Pyrus.

It was not a fun ride. The rocks and stones made for a bumpy ride all the way down to the bottom. They met up with the goron at the end. He was studying the mound of earth that served as a plug for the inferno below.

"It still has some time. I'm surprised it held out this long though," Pyrus discovered.

"Great! Can we leave now? There's something unsettling about being burned alive that makes me uneasy. I don't know, maybe it's just me?" Jim replied sarcastically. Viscen chuckled.

"We really should be going though, Pyrus. It's still not-" Viscen cut-off. A cavern in the side of the cliff caught his eye, "What's that?" He pointed it out to the other two. They climbed up the side of the cliff wall and reached the cavern entrance. It was dark and the air was extremely hot, almost unbearably.

"Have you ever seen this place, Pyrus?" Jim asked.

"No, I had no idea it was down here," Pyrus said exploring the new place they had found. The group continued deeper into the cavern. A red glow permeated the depths of the cavern. Following the red glow they found a red orb, glowing brightly within a pool of magma.

"I seems…unnatural. I looks like it's giving power to the volcano," Pyrus explained. It did have strange pulses running throughout the pool. Pyrus began to wade out into the magma.

"Pyrus! What are you doing?" Viscen asked.

"Let's see what happens when I do this," Pyrus reached down into the pool and pulled the orb out of the lava. The mountain seemed to tense up and then…nothing. The pulses stopped, the lava seemed to relax, and the tremors…well that part was too early to tell. Pyrus brought in back from the lava pool.

"What should we do with it?" Pyrus asked the two.

"Let's just get out of here first. Being inside a volcano is still freaking me out," Jim stated.

After two hours they found their way out. The odd thing was that there were no tremors coming from the mountain during those couple of hours.

"You think it's over?" Jim asked tentatively.

"That was…remarkably easy," Viscen stated.

"Let's smash this thing in celebration!" Pyrus exclaimed.

He placed it on the ground in front of them. Viscen and Jim let Pyrus do the honors as it appeared as though the orb had been cause him and the villagers all of their problems. Pyrus brought a mighty fist into the orb and it shattered effortlessly. The rain stopped instantaneously. They all looked at the sky, wondering if what they were seeing was a dream. Surely the rain was only playing a trick, but after a few minutes it hadn't continued. The trio celebrated, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting. The sun's rays poured through the once dark skies and returned to the land. Unfortunately it was short-lived.

A red mist emitted from the orbs remains and wafted into Viscen's pack. Odd stares were given to one another and Viscen removed his backpack. The tablet he had found on his earlier trip was attracting the mist. Letters on the tablet were filled in:

_The Goddess wish for us to worship them?_

_They are deluded._

_Never will we, the architects, of the great Stone Tower,_

_Bow to such insolent beings_

_This tower will reach the heavens_

_And we will invade the Goddess's Realm_

_Destroy us? Such an ironic name to give a land._

_But we will prevail…_

The rest remained in the ancient language.

"What is this? It seems like a letter or a journal," Jim reasoned.

"Destroy us? The Goddess wanted to destroy them? What land did they name?" Viscen asked.

"Termina?" Pyrus suggested.

"Termina? Why…wait. Ironic? Termina..." Jim was babbling.

"What's wrong James?" Viscen was a little worried of the look of fear growing on his friends face.

"The people who built the Stone Tower were the people we descended from, Viscen. They wanted to destroy the Goddesses according to that journal. What if Termina was given that name by the Goddesses to be affiliated with the word destroy? To get back at us, as their revenge,"

"What word would that be?" Pyrus asked.

"Terminate." Viscen realized.

"It's an ironic name. The moon and now this crisis. Viscen, regardless of whether or not we've fixed things this time…" Jim stopped, afraid to continue,

"Termina was always meant to be destroyed,"


	5. Chapter 5

Kafei woke up the morning after Jim and Viscen had left for the mountains. They left rather late in the night, close to early morning really. He had guessed they were climbing up the mountain pass now. Kafei wished he could have been there with them, doing something other than sitting around. Remembering his vow to Viscen he got out of bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Anju's mother was attending the counter although Kafei was not sure why as there was no one who would dare come to this town looking for a room. She smiled weakly at him and went back to reading her book that she had absorbed herself in before he had come downstairs. Kafei had guessed Anju had told her what had happened as her mother's reaction to seeing him was rather awkward. The encounter didn't do much for his mood, but he kept his head high and made for the exit.

The rain was horrible as usual. Kafei knew it was too early for the others to have found anything. Still, half of him hoped he could have walked outside and saw the bright sun shining down on the town again. He pulled the hood attached to his shirt over his head and traversed over to West Clock Town. If he was going to find a weapon of some kind it was going to be with the swordmaster. There were few people out in the streets of the town. Most of them were collecting food for their families, who had all locked themselves up in their houses, hoping that this nightmare would end. This sight was enough to make Kafei realize the magnitude of his father's actions. He wasn't hurting the people, but he wasn't helping either and this town needed all the help it could get. Jim had been right, why should he apologize for this? Kafei felt a great burden beginning to drop off of him. He would worry about the well being of the town, his parents, his friends, Anju. But now that he was beginning to work on solving the problems his worries melted. He was going to fix things just like Jim and Viscen.

The entrance to the sword school was worn. The wooden sign had taken a beating from the rain as much as the other structures and most of the paint had run off. Inside, the old instructor was sleeping at the back of the room, snoring rather loudly. Kafei stepped into the school and took in the surroundings. It had been years since he had entered this building, yet it seemed familiar like he had been there every day of his life. Kafei suddenly noticed that the room had become quiet with the exception of the rain pounding on the roof. The old man had apparently stopped snoring, but when Kafei went to look he was no longer on his cot. He became nervous. How had that old man disappeared without making a sound?

"Looking for me?"

Kafei whirled around and was face to face with the instructor, "What? How? How did you do that?"

"Oh, I'm full of surprises young Kafei. Or maybe I should drop the young part? You have been living for how long now? 40 some years? Yet stuck in a body that does not match your age. You're lucky. I wish I could do that." The old man seemed to take pleasure in reminding Kafei of his situation.

"Lucky? I consider it a curse." Kafei argued, "It's taken the woman I love away."

"She is not gone Kafei. She is still alive. Living her life. Realize that all is not lost. I told you that the day you were changed into a child. I assume you're here for the same reason as well?" The old man asked, although he didn't need to ask the question.

"Teach me. I want to help Jim and Viscen. They want to save this town and I want to be able to aid them." Kafei reasoned.

"Now that cause is much better than the last one." The old man smiled widely and handed Kafei a sword, "Let's begin then."

The dark figure rose from the old King of Ikana's throne. He had felt as though something went wrong with his plan. The tremors from the mountain had stopped about two hours ago when they should have been quickening by the day. He made his way from the throne room and headed outside. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, blaring down on him and the stalfos guard issued outside to protect the castle should anyone find them. He gritted his teeth, someone had found the red orb placed to channel power into the volcano to trigger an eruption. Thinking about the situation he smiled, the red orb wasn't well hidden so it could do its job uninterrupted. The others were much better off and soon there would be no need for the orbs to be in their positions and he could control the elements from his throne without them. It took the villagers this long to find the most easily found orb, they would never find the others in time…if they even knew they were there. He laughed quietly and went back to his throne.

"ROMANI!"

The fiery haired girl heard her name being called from across the field. She had been enjoying the new found sunlight. Her sister, Cremia, had been calling her trying to get Romani's attention.

"I know we haven't seen the sun in a while, but we need to make our delivery today too. Take the wagon to Clock Town. See if you can find out anything about what happened while you're there though. Maybe they found out how to stop it." Cremia said.

"How would they stop weather? The sun is a gift after all this rain!" Romani exclaimed.

"Ever hear of magic?" Romani rolled her eyes, Cremia had a point, "It's possible someone had been playing a trick. A nasty one at that."

Romani climbed onto the wagon, waved goodbye to her sister, and spurred the horses to Clock Town.

Jim and Viscen had made their way back to the Goron village with Pyrus. The revelation that the three of them had earlier weighed heavily on their minds. It was possible that they were jumping to conclusions or that it was all a big coincidence, but the possibility of the matter was unsettling at best. Pyrus parted ways with the duo and rejoiced with his brothers. The gorons had already begun to unpack and settle back into the village, although most were cheering and celebrating rather abrasively. Jim laughed at the sight. It was good to see that they had made a difference here, whether it be permanent or otherwise. Viscen, on the other hand, was meticulously looking over the tablet. He wanted desperately to figure out what the rest of it had to say. Jim was rather concerned.

"Viscen?" he started slowly, "Hey? You alright?" Viscen looked at him, "Relax, I'm sure it's nothing. Just a…coincidence or something. If it makes you feel better we can keep looking to find whatever it is that translates the rest of it, but I think we've earned a bit of a break for now."

Viscen sighed, "You're right. I should relax. The situation seems to be fixed for now." He paused, "I should see if I can find lodgings here." Jim nodded. They both knew that if Viscen had returned to Clock Town, Dotour would have a field day and arrest him on the spot, "It was admirable for Shiro to have warned us of that." Jim winced a bit, the thought of the guard captain still had a bitter taste, "You should give him one last chance James. He may truly be looking out for the town. Give him time."

The two parted ways and Jim started his long walk back to Clock Town.

Romani reached the East Clock Town gate before dusk. The Gorman brothers were apparently too busy enjoying the sun to bother her that day. She hopped off the wagon and began to unload the milk out of the back. It was a long and tiring process, but it would pay off each day for her and Cremia. She stopped briefly when she heard footsteps approaching the wagon. They didn't seem staggered or rushed so she assumed that she wasn't in danger and continued to unload the cart. While doing so, another pair of hands reached up and pulled a crate off the wagon and placed it with the others. Romani looked up and immediately recognized her new help.

"I admit, I probably should have checked who it was when I heard you. Thanks though, I can always use an extra pair of hands," Romani laughed.

"You really should have checked. I could've been anyone! Then again it would have been good pay back for slamming into me the other day," Jim smiled pulling at another crate.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. I was in a rush to get back. We were backed up on work so I had to get to the ranch quickly." Romani explained.

"That's alright. I'm not too worried about it. How about this sun though? This setting sun rather?" Jim asked alluding to the fact that it was dusk.

"I KNOW! I was so excited when the rain stopped suddenly. My sister had to ruin it though by sending me on the delivery run tonight."

"Oh well," Jim sighed, pulling off the last crate, "At least you got to see a semi-dry Clock Town today. That's good news right?"

"Definitely. Well I have to go see Mr. Barten about payment so I'll see you a little later?"

"Sounds good, take care of yourself. I'll tell Kafei you said 'hi'."

Romani rushed off to attend to the rest of the delivery, while Jim made his way back to the inn.


End file.
